


fear

by midnightmxnwalk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Gen, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Vampire!Chan - Freeform, Vampire!Jisung, Vampires, not ur typical vamp shenanigans, the plot veers off a Lot, too much angst, vampire!hyunjin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28597290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmxnwalk/pseuds/midnightmxnwalk
Summary: "Right. Your average blood-selling ebay store." Jisung didn't really know what else to do other than joke about it. If he didn't, then it would finally hit him that it was real. He wasn't ready to admit it was real.Because if it was real, that meant he was one too.-or: a self-indulgent stray kids vampire au
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	1. born of the night

**Author's Note:**

> cw; blood, vomiting, panic attack

Jisung didn't really remember what happened.

It was late at night, he had just finished dance practice, and all he wanted to do was collapse on the floor. The other members had left earlier, but he had stayed behind to do some extra practice.

He had dragged his aching limbs out of the studio, vaguely aware of a voice in the back of his mind telling him something was wrong. He ignored it, thinking of the warmth of his bed that was waiting for him back at the dorm.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see an array of texts on the group chat. The members were complaining that their dinner was getting cold whilst they waited for him. He scoffed, typing a quick reply saying that he'd be there soon.

Just as he was about to hit the send button, something slammed into him from the side, knocking him into the middle of the road. He let out a groan, the back of his head throbbing intensely.

His eyes were clouded by tears but he could make out a figure bending over him. He felt their breath on his neck, his heartbeat was thundering in his ears.

A sharp pain blossomed in his neck, and he let out a whimper. The pain dulled to an ache, and he felt his body becoming more and more weak. He was only on the edge of consciousness at this point, he struggled to stay awake.

Through his hazy vision, he saw blood painting the concrete red. He felt an awful urge to throw up when he realised it was _his_ blood. He was bleeding, very heavily.

"Am I going to die?" He said to himself quietly, tasting iron on his tongue. He could barely see anything anymore.

The figure seemed to still be there, bending over him. Something was shoved against his face, and a hot, sticky liquid spilled into his mouth. He coughed and swallowed, feeling so, so sick.

He couldn't pass out. If he did that, he'd die. It was so hard to keep his eyes open, but he had to.

His attacker seemed to have gone now, leaving him to die. He wasn't going to die. Not with all the people depending on him.

Groaning, he shifted, trying to get to his feet. Get up, and get help. He could barely move, and he writhed on the ground hopelessly.

Was there no one here at all? Where were all the people? He couldn't even stand up on his own, for all the agony he was in.

He took deep breaths, in and out. If there was no one here to help him, he had to help himself.

He tried to get up again. His legs felt like jelly and he felt as though his arms would break under the pressure. He managed to push himself up into a kneeling position. Shakily, he stood up.

He was standing up now. He was so dizzy.

He pressed a hand on his neck, in an attempt to stem the blood flow. He was standing.

One foot in front of the other, he began walking back to the dorm.

It felt like a century went by.

Jisung staggered through the front door of the dorm, his hands still pressed against his neck in an attempt to slow the blood that was gushing out. He was on the verge of passing out, the floor swaying dangerously beneath him.

"Jisung?" He heard Chan's voice from the kitchen. "It's about time you got back."

Jisung panted, feeling sweat trickling down his forehead. For some reason, he really didn't want anyone to see the wound. Even though it clearly needed medical attention, every part of him was screaming at himself to run and hide.

It sounded as if Chan was walking over to the hallway. Each footstep was fire in his ears.

In a split second, he made the decision.

He charged for the bathroom, with speed he didn't even know he was capable of, and slammed the door shut behind him with a bang. Catching his breath, he slid the lock across with shaky hands. Then his legs gave out beneath him, and he fell to the floor.

He could hear Chan shouting his name, but he sounded muffled and far away. It was like there was a wall now, between Jisung and everyone else, preventing him from reaching out for help.

He lay on the floor for a few minutes, before clambering back to his feet. He saw himself in the mirror, and winced. His neck was plastered in crimson, his veins stark against pale skin. He removed his hands from his neck, and to his relief, it looked as though the bleeding had stopped.

Somehow, he had to clean himself up and hide all of evidence of it from the other members. Whatever it was that attacked him, it wasn't something they needed to know about. Besides, if the bleeding had stopped already, the wound couldn't really be that bad at all, could it?

Peeling off his bloodstained clothes, he stepped into the shower, gripping the wall for support. He watched the red swirl into the water and down the drain. It wasn't a nice sight, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.

When he was sure he'd removed any trace of the blood from his body, he stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist, almost as if everything was normal. Then he was confronted by his stained clothes as well as a pool of blood on the floor where he'd lain.

With the combined effort of toilet paper, water and soap, he cleaned up the floor. Now he had to figure out what he was going to do with his clothes.

He spotted the set of drawers in the corner that no one really used. He found an empty drawer, and stuffed his clothes in it. That would have to do for now. He could deal with them later.

He looked in the mirror once more, seeing what the wound properly was. Two pinpricks on his neck, like he'd been bitten by a snake or something. It wasn't noticeable unless he looked up close, so hopefully he'd avoid any questioning.

Limbs feeling like lead, he unlocked the bathroom door, and headed for his room. Inside, he was relieved to see only Hyunjin sitting there.

"You're back." Hyunjin said. "There's some food left over for you, if you want it."

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks." Jisung said, as he changed into clean clothes.

"Why do you smell so weird?" Hyunjin asked.

Shit. He'd just showered though, how could he still smell like blood?

"It's probably my shampoo." Jisung muttered, before heading to the kitchen to get his food. He hadn't realised how hungry he was. Well, he had lost a lot of blood, so it made sense that he felt so empty.

In the kitchen there was a luke-warm bowl of kimchi stew waiting for him, as well as a concerned Chan.

"Why'd you run straight to the bathroom when you got back?"

Jisung faltered. "I was sweaty. Needed to shower. And piss."

Chan rolled his eyes. "You could've just said so."

"Sorry." Jisung murmured, stirring the stew with his chopsticks. For some reason, it wasn't seeming that appetising to him. But maybe he was just weak from the blood loss.

With a slightly shaking hand, he lifted a piece up to his mouth. It barely made it in before coming back out again, as he choked on the vile taste.

"Is this some sort of prank?" Jisung asked Chan.

"What? No! You don't like it?"

"It's disgusting." Jisung said bluntly. "Did you make it?"

"Yeah." Chan looked a little guilty. "I'm sorry. Everyone else was fine with it."

"God, they need their taste buds checked then." Jisung huffed, knowing he was making a big deal, but not making the effort to tone down his grumpiness. "I think I'll find something else to eat."

He made his way over to the fridge as Chan began clearing up the stew. His hands were still shaking, and his mind was filled with an unexplainable anger. He shouldn't have lashed out at Chan like that at all, he _knew that_ , but he couldn't shake the angry feeling.

Nothing in the fridge really took his fancy either. But he had to eat. He knew that it would ease the pain in his stomach, rid him of the hunger. Eventually he settled on some watermelon, a light and healthy thing that wouldn't be too much for him.

He sat down and put a piece in his mouth. He chewed, and a bitter taste began to come through. He fought the urge to spit it out, aware of Chan watching to make sure he ate.

With great difficulty, he swallowed. It felt wrong, so wrong. Why had his appetite grown, but protested when he ate food? Why did he want to immediately throw it up?

He put another piece in his mouth, chewing it slowly, and bearing through the pain. It was a food that he liked, it had always tasted good before now, so he was going to goddamn eat it and ignore the inherent urge not to.

After Jisung swallowed the second piece, Chan seemed satisfied enough that Jisung would eat, and left the room. And suddenly, without a pair of eyes watching him, Jisung couldn't anymore.

He couldn't put another piece in his mouth, because what little he had inside of him was threatening to come back out. He could feel it, and panic took over.

Holding a hand over his mouth, he ran to the bathroom for the second time that evening, just in time to empty his stomach into the toilet. He coughed and retched, and it _hurt_. It hurt like hell.

He was hungry but he didn't want to eat the goddamn food. What kind of fucking contradiction was that? How did that make any sense?

And why did it hurt so much?

He felt so weak. So tired. Hardly aware of his surroundings. There was someone there, pulling him to his feet, and somehow he found himself laying in his bed.

"I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning." Chan said, just before Jisung slipped into unconsciousness.

-

The problem did not go away when he woke up. Just the smell of food was enough to make him gag, simultaneously reminding him of the starved pain inside of him.

He tried to eat. He really did. He forced it down again and again, but it never stayed. It always ended with him puking it out a few minutes later.

He knew that the others had noticed. Apart from the occasional _are you okay?_ from Felix, no one said anything. They almost seemed too afraid to. As if confronting Jisung about it would make it worse.

It was two days later that he realised there had been a lot of conversations going on behind closed doors, when he happened to accidentally eavesdrop on one that evening.

"What is it, Hyunjin?" Chan's voice seemed fairly calm.

Hyunjin sounded nervous. "Jisung hasn't been eating for a few days now."

"You think I haven't noticed, Hyunjin? You're acting like that's news to me."

"Then why aren't you doing anything? Either he's genuinely ill or-"

"Or nothing." Chan finished. "There's no other explanation and I'm not going to let you waste my time with it."

"If he's genuinely ill then we should take him to a fucking doctor. But you haven't done that."

Chan's voice broke from the false calm. "I-I don't know what to do, Hyunjinnie. He's hurting, and I want to help him, but we... we don't know... we don't know for sure."

"Other than the exact same fucking symptoms, Chan!"

Jisung jumped when he heard Hyunjin raise his voice, accidentally stepping back onto a creaky floorboard.

"Keep your voice down." Chan murmured. "Someone's there."

Sweating, Jisung turned and tiptoed as fast as he could back to his room. He heard soft snores coming from Jeongin's bed and hoped that he hadn't disturbed him. He fell onto his bed, trying to look as asleep as possible. A minute later, Hyunjin walked in, and went straight to bed as well.

What had Hyunjin meant by the exact same symptoms? Symptoms of _what_? Jisung's mind was buzzing with confusion and questions.

His phone lit up with a notification, and he picked it up to check it.

_Hyunjin: all food tastes disgusting to you doesn't it?_

Jisung glanced over at where Hyunjin lay, holding his phone and making eye contact with Jisung.

_Hyunjin: but you feel so hungry that you feel you could kill someone_

Jisung blinked, surprised by how well those messages resonated with him. He looked at Hyunjin once more, and nodded.

_Hyunjin: i can help you. you might not want my help once i explain it, and you might hate me, but i know how to get the pain to stop._

Jisung believed that to be true. So he typed a response with shaky fingers.

_Jisung: how?_

_Hyunjin: it's best if i tell you in the morning. we also can't let anyone else overhear, especially not chan._

_Jisung: okay then... goodnight._

_Hyunjin: night_.

The next day, it was impossible for them to get a moment alone. Especially with everyone trying to make Jisung eat, which made him feel sick to his stomach. Somehow, in the evening, he managed to escape their eyes, and went into his room with Hyunjin.

"So, what is it? Do I have some kind of illness? Is it... is it an eating disorder?" Jisung asked Hyunjin.

"I suppose an illness would be the best way to describe it. If you keep trying to eat food, and not what you're supposed to, it could end up killing you."

Jisung felt his mouth go dry. He could die. He did not want to die.

"But, but you said you knew how to help, right?" He stammered.

"Yeah." Hyunjin said, looking nervously at the ground. "I... god, where do I even start."

"At the beginning?" Jisung said meekly.

"Okay. Right." Hyunjin took a deep breath. "Three years ago I went through exactly what you're going through. It started with this." He pulled down his shirt to reveal a scar, that looked identical to the wound Jisung had on his own neck. "You were attacked, right? It was late, and no one was around to help you. Somehow you didn't bleed out, and ended up helping yourself."

"What was it? That attacked both of us?" He had a feeling he already knew the answer, in the back of his mind.

"A vampire."

Silence. It made sense. It really did. And Jisung would've believed it if vampires were real. But they were _fictional creatures_. They were fantasy, not real.

He couldn't really help it when he snapped. He couldn't stop a laugh coming out of his mouth.

"Thanks for the help, Hyunjin, I'm just gonna go maim someone and drink their blood! Because a _vampire_ bit me, because vampires definitely exist! Real helpful, Hyunjin! All my problems are solved!"

Hyunjin stood in the doorway, his expression serious. He opened his mouth and _holy fuck he had fangs_.

"Those aren't real," Jisung muttered, "You got those at, like, a halloween store, they're not _real_ -"

Hyunjin touched his finger to one of the fangs, and held it up to Jisung, blood flowing from a tiny prick.

"Do you believe me now?" He asked, voice unbearably calm.

Jisung swallowed. Vampires. Hyunjin was a vampire. _Jisung_ was a vampire. Vampires were real. Vampires who killed people. Vampires who drank their blood. A supernatural creature, known to _kill_ people.

No. Fuck no. This was not okay. Jisung was not okay.

"This isn't real..." He muttered, feeling his breathing speed up. "It's not-" He swallowed, "It's not real- Not real- Can't be..."

He mumbled those words over and over to himself as he slid to the floor, his body shaking. He was vaguely aware that he was having a panic attack. Vaguely aware of Hyunjin shouting for Chan.

But all he could focus on was how _fucked up_ this was. It couldn't be real, he wasn't- Hyunjin wasn't- it was absurd! It _wasn't real_ , it didn't make sense.

"Jisung." Chan was here now, gently taking hold of his hand. "I'm right here, Jisung. I'm gonna need you to try that breathing technique we learned before, yeah? In for four, hold for four, out for four. Can you do that for me?"

Jisung shakily nodded. In for four, hold for four, out for four. Chan counted quietly beside him.

It took a while, but he calmed down.

"Sorry..." Hyunjin mumbled, to both Jisung and Chan. "It was my fault."

"You told him didn't you?" Chan said, and Hyunjin nodded.

"Wait, you- you know about this vampire stuff too?" Jisung asked, and then had flashbacks to the conversation he'd overheard.

"Yeah. I am one."

Jisung couldn't help a laugh escaping his throat. "No wonder you never sleep and are so fucking pale! Man, you're a complete stereotype."

Chan grinned. "I'm aware."

"So... this can't be a dream then..." Jisung muttered. "It makes too much sense to be a dream..."

"Unfortunately, you're right. This isn't a dream. It's all real. But we're going to help you."

"I don't want to... I don't want to kill someone..." Jisung mumbled.

"Kill someone? You think we kill people, Jisung?" Hyunjin chuckled.

"I don't know, you're vampires!"

"We're not _mediaeval_."

"Well, what do you do then?"

"You'd be surprised how easy and non-lethal it is." Chan said. "There's a group of vampires who steal blood donations from hospitals and sell them online."

"Right. Your average blood-selling ebay store." Jisung didn't really know what else to do other than joke about it. If he didn't, then it would finally hit him that it was real. He wasn't ready to admit it was real.

Because if it was real, that meant _he_ was one too.

"You must be hungry." Chan said after a while.

Jisung froze. Yes. He was absolutely starving. But drinking blood meant it was real, drinking blood made him into a monster, he didn't want to be a monster-

_If I'm a monster, what about Chan and Hyunjin? Are they monsters too?_

No. They weren't. Even with this new revelation, they were no different. They were his family. Not killers, not monsters.

Chan seemed to sense his hesitation. "It's okay. It's awful at first, I know, but you get used to it. You don't need to have that much if you don't want to. Just enough to keep you alive."

"Okay." Jisung murmured, taking deep breaths. It would be okay.

Chan lead him to the kitchen, and opened the fridge, which baffled Jisung.

"You seriously kept it in there? All this time?" He asked.

"No one ever uses the bottom drawer." Chan's replied, taking out a tupperware box and opening it. There were several bags of blood inside. Immediately the smell hit Jisung, and his stomach rumbled. "I've gotta heat it up but it'll only take a couple minutes."

Jisung nodded, not knowing what he was feeling. Hungry, yes, but also revolted by that hunger.

Hyunjin leaned against the doorway, a curious look on his face.

The microwave beeped, and Jisung felt the smell wash over him as Chan took the bag out. He practically grabbed it out of his hands, before freezing when he realised what he was doing.

It smelt _good_. And Jisung was disgusted with himself.

"It's okay." Chan said once again, so much meaning within his words. "If you want, we could leave the room?"

Jisung pondered that, and nodded.

As soon as they left, he was tearing into the bag like a starved animal. He poured the warm liquid down his throat, and felt fangs poke out of his gums as he did so.

It was like the best thing he'd ever tasted in his life, quenching then undeniable hunger that had been plaguing him for days. Relief washed over him, it finally felt as though he could breathe again.

When he'd drained the last drop, the moment ended. He was once again full of self loathing, unable to believe what he'd just done. The bag was lightly clutched in his hands, and he gripped it tighter, an outlet for his frustration.

He stared at the wall for a bit, the white paint starting to morph into red. It made him feel dizzy.

But he was no longer hungry. There was that, at least.

Chan came in a few minutes later, taking the bag and cleaning up. He didn't say a word to Jisung as he did so, just silent understanding in his eyes.

Jisung slept well, despite his own fear and confusion. He had Chan and Hyunjin, right there to help him through it.

-

The next day, Jisung had questions. A _lot_ of questions.

"So is the reflection thing a myth?"

"Yeah, else it would cause a lot of problems wouldn't it."

"What about super speed?"

"We're faster than humans, so yeah, you could call it that."

"What factor of sunscreen should I use?"

"Fifty or it's gonna hurt."

"Can we turn into bats?"

"Only on Wednesdays."

"Can I _die_? Or am I immortal? Or am I already dead?"

"For god's sake, Jisung, can you give it a rest?" Chan yelled, drawing the eyes of everyone else in the practice room.

"...But is the bat thing true?" Jisung whispered.

"No! Obviously not!"

"Okay, I'm just gonna go over there then..." Jisung pointed one the vague direction of the others, and ran to avoid Chan's temper.

"What have you been bothering Chan about?" Changbin asked.

"Nothing." Jisung said indignantly.

"Hey, since when did anyone here keep secrets?"

"Don't know why you'd suggest that. I'm not keeping any secrets. Of course, I can't speak for anyone else, because if they have secrets then I wouldn't know about them would I? If I did, they wouldn't be secrets. Unless you wanna call them shared secrets, but that kind of defeats the poin-"

"Okay, okay, I get it. No need to talk my ear off."

"That's mean, Changbin, you know Jisung can't help being annoying, it's in his nature." Minho said.

"You little-"

"You wouldn't dare insult your hyung, would you?"

"-Bastard, _hyung_." Jisung finished.

"Hey, adding honorifics does not change what you said!"

"At least you're back to your usual self today, Jisung." Felix said quietly, as if no one else had meant to hear it.

"You bet I am." Jisung smiled, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Felix looked startled, but smiled back.

The strange thing was, Jisung wasn't. He hadn't been since that night, and even though he acted normally, on the inside he was in conflict with himself. His emotions were running wild, but he hid behind a smile because... well, because that's what he'd always done.

It really was hard to break a habit, especially one as deep rooted as this. People made it sound so easy, but - to steal Minho's words - it was in his nature. Bottling feelings up was just a part of who he was. He couldn't really change that.

One thing that changed was that practice was so _easy_ now. He was on top of his game, even getting a compliment from their dance instructor. He tried to revel in the positives of it, but in the back of his mind, he loathed to think of the real reason behind it.

He probably needed to talk to Chan again. This time for emotional reassurance, rather than stupid questions.

But Chan was avoiding him, focusing on 'practice' and 'work'. Jisung couldn't shake the feeling he'd done something wrong. Had all those questions really been that annoying?

"What have I done?" Jisung asked Hyunjin. "Why is Chan annoyed at me?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "Beats me. It's unlikely because of you, he seems kinda stressed out. I think it's because of something else. You know how he gets, working and working nonstop. You do it too."

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want to be causing any problems..."

Hyunjin hesitated for a bit. "I don't think you should worry about it. The only thing is we'll have to order more blood since there's three of us now, but Chan's always been able to handle it. He didn't make a fuss about it when I was turned."

"Does he pay for it?" Jisung asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah, he won't let me pay for my share. Damn selfless idiot."

"He always has been."

Giving up on talking to Chan - it was approaching midnight now and he wasn't likely to be done working anytime soon - Jisung went home with the others.

The moon shone unnaturally bright that night, and it was a surprise to even see it in Seoul, what with all the pollution. Jisung stared up at the sky, an odd feeling hitting him. It was all different now. His entire life had turned upside down.

But the moon was there. Unchanging, forever orbiting the planet. It was a comforting thought.

The fear that had enveloped him was beginning to ease, and he knew he'd get used to this new life. He had fought to be where he was today, against all odds. Things would change again, but he had his members beside him.

More questions rose up in his mind as they walked back. He didn't need to get answers to them today, but he had a feeling he'd be lying awake thinking about them until he did.

"What is it?" Hyunjin asked, as Jisung tugged him into the kitchen.

"How often? Do we need it?" Jisung avoided saying the word 'blood', as he was still on edge about it.

"I don't actually know. I have a bag every couple of days, but I think Chan has it less often than that. There's always enough there for both of us, though, he makes sure of it."

"Where does he actually buy it?"

Hyunjin sighed. "Deep web. I don't know the details of it or how to get there, and I wouldn't try if I were you. Chan says there's a whole community of vampires on there; not only do they sell blood but they communicate and trade information. As a species, we don't know much about ourselves, especially biologically, so there's always something new discovered."

Jisung hummed, as another thought hit him. "Hang on, if vampires exist, do other supernatural creatures exist too?"

"What, like werewolves? It's possible." Hyunjin pursed his lips. "Chan would know. I guess you can ask him tomorrow. Sorry, I'm not too helpful answering your questions."

"No, it's fine. I have too many of them anyway."

He resolved to talk to Chan tomorrow as he headed to bed, tired from all of his raging thoughts. Maybe get some answers to the plethora of questions still swirling around in his mind. He could even make a list of vampire top tips.

But Chan wasn't there the next day. Neither was Hyunjin.

They were both gone.


	2. stars, hide your fires

It had been hours.

Hours of calling Chan and Hyunjin's phones, hours of it going to voicemail, hours of screaming their names into silence, hours of running down the streets looking for them.

Jisung was losing every piece of composure he'd ever had, watching it shatter into dust. They were gone, his family, they were _missing_.

Whilst they sat restlessly in the studio, Changbin had kept calling Chan. Again and again, and Jisung was growing tired of hearing the monotone voice that replied each time.

_'Sorry, the person you're trying to call can't answer the phone right now. Please leave a message after the tone.'_

Bang. Jisung kicked the studio door. "Just stop!" He yelled.

Changbin jumped, and stared at Jisung with teary eyes. "I just want him to pick up..." He put his head in his hands. "Damnit..."

Jisung immediately felt sorry for his outburst. All of his worry and sadness had morphed into anger, and he couldn't find an outlet for it. The frustration swam around inside him like acid slowly eating away at him.

There was a deeper implication behind Chan and Hyunjin's disappearance, something Jisung had avoided until now because he hadn't wanted to be selfish. But he had to confront it eventually, figure out what it meant for him.

Both of them were vampires. He couldn't help but think that might have something to do with why they'd disappeared. So many theories bounced around in his head, tangled with mythology he had no idea was even true. He had no way of solving anything despite his raging thoughts, though.

One thing that was louder was the hunger beginning to rise up within him once more.

There were the blood bags in the fridge - he didn't know how many, but it was a limited number. Jisung didn't know how to order any more of them, and Hyunjin had warned him against trying to find out. If Chan and Hyunjin didn't come back...

It didn't matter, though. They would come back, right? And even if the blood bags became an issue for Jisung, he would deal with it. He wouldn't be fucking selfish worrying about himself, when his members could be anywhere right now. What if they were hurt? No, no, they would be fine.

They'd turn up in a few hours. They had to. Maybe, maybe they had gone somewhere and hadn't been able to get back because of _something_ , maybe a train had been cancelled and their phones were dead and...

"We have to find them, we have to call the police or _something_! We can't just- just fucking sit in the studio and be expected to work normally!" Jisung's eyes landed on Chan's empty chair as he yelled this.

"It's too early for them to be officially missing for the police's standards." Changbin said quietly.

"But they are! They fucking are, they wouldn't just disappear out of nowhere!"

"I know! But there's nothing else we can do, okay? I hate it as much as you do, but all we can do is wait."

Waiting. That seemed like the shittiest, most difficult thing to do right now.

What was worse was that they were expected to go on as normal whilst they waited.

It was halfway through practice that Jisung felt the sickening hunger creep in more painfully than before. The only way he could really describe it was emptiness, and it clawed at his insides desperately.

Everyone was still on edge, no one could focus, not when two of their number weren't there. Even their dance instructor seemed worried and put off by it, and didn't operate with the usual authority.

During one of their breaks, Jisung collapsed against the sofa, and did not get up again when the break was over. No one tried to make him; after a while they joined him.

The hunger seemed to increase when people were nearby. His senses sharpened, the desperation within him increased. It only made him more sick that his stomach was trying to convince him that his friends were food.

He ended up burying his face in his knees, trying to block it out. There had to be some form of control to it. He'd seen Chan and Hyunjin eat normal food, and they'd never been _like this_. If they were here, he'd ask, but they weren't here, so he didn't have anyone to turn to.

Goddamnit. He was being selfish again. But this was a problem he couldn't avoid, it was constantly looming over him, and he didn't know what to do. He wanted his members back more than anything, he just wanted them to come back and help him before he lost his mind trying to control the blood-thirst within himself.

It had been an unproductive day, and he heard the sounds of everyone getting up to leave the practice room.

"You coming?" Minho asked him.

"I might stay here a bit longer." Jisung couldn't find the energy within himself to get up, and really wanted to be away from people right now.

"Okay, don't stay too long."

The room was now empty, and finally it felt like he could breathe again. There was still the lingering smell of living, breathing people, but it was faint now that they'd left.

He'd never been afraid of people in this way before. He'd been afraid of their thoughts and opinions, but not of the possibility that he could hurt them. Maybe it was an instinct beyond his control, but he couldn't blame anyone other than himself.

The empty practice room was lined with mirrors, and in every reflection he could only see a monster.

He fell asleep that night with such thoughts. If only he hadn't stayed behind for extra practice that day. If only he hadn't walked down the street at that time and made himself a target.

Most of all, he saw Chan and Hyunjin's faces in his mind. Asking him why he was so weak, why couldn't he control it, why couldn't he be like them?

And a small part of Jisung wondered if he'd driven them away.

-

The next day, they were called for a meeting with the company. It was obvious what it was about, and everyone's nerves seemed to be on fire that morning.

There were a lot of Big Important People in the meeting room, whose titles Jisung couldn't remember. Higher ups within the company staff, who were all quite scary.

There was also an unfamiliar man standing in the corner. He stepped forward once they'd all settled down.

"This is Officer Choi, he'll be in charge of the investigation concerning your missing members."

So _this_ was the purpose of the meeting.

Fucking finally. The police were involved. Everything would be solved now, right? They'd do their detective work, Chan and Hyunjin would be found, everything would be okay.

Jisung couldn't allow himself to think otherwise. This was a glimmer of hope in his swirling darkness of thoughts, and he'd damn hold onto it for dear life. If only to fight his own doubts.

The officer talked about some rules and regulations regarding how they'd move forward with the investigation, and spent far too long expressing his sympathy for their situation. _'You all must be very worried right now.'_ \- who the fuck asked for his opinion? Jisung had to bite back any angry retorts he felt stewing inside of him.

The meeting went on for a while, but finally they could leave. Jisung couldn't stand the atmosphere, the tension and solemn pity that everyone else in the room emanated as they looked upon the group. Judging from his member's expressions, they felt the same way.

Work was cancelled for now, which was a relief. The company would give a statement tomorrow, announcing their indefinite hiatus whilst keeping the reasons for it hidden. Jisung hoped that there wouldn't be any adverse reactions to it.

It would be over soon, anyway. It wouldn't take long to find their missing members. Or at least, he prayed it wouldn't. Every second not spent with them only deepened the aching hole in his heart.

No one spoke much back at the dorm. Minho told them all to eat, and then, ignoring his own advice, he went and hid in his room.

Everyone else gathered in the kitchen, so Jisung reluctantly followed.

He stared at the fridge, knowing what was inside, knowing that he wanted it. The temptation was there, tugging at him desperately to open the door, satisfy his urges.

He fought against it. Part of him wondered if any of the vampire stuff was real, or if he'd imagined it. The memory of those conversations seemed distant and faded. But the hunger within him remained. The other part was self hatred that screamed at him to not succumb to doing something so disgusting and inhumane.

"What are you doing?" Changbin asked.

"Nothing!" Jisung jumped, and tore his eyes away.

"Okay." Changbin eyed him with distrust. "I'm making ramen, do you want any?"

Jisung's stomach lurched. "No thanks." He muttered, forcing himself to walk away from the fridge. It wasn't as if he could've done anything without prying eyes, anyway.

-

At midnight he found himself trembling with the hunger. He could sense the beating hearts of the other people in the room, the blood that flowed around their bodies. A primal desire within him urged him to _hunt_ , but with what little control he had left over his mind, he reminded himself of another solution.

And that was enough to move his starved body from where he lay.

He tore himself away from his bed, stumbling in the only direction he could go, the place that held his relief. He could hardly stand up straight, and his hands scratched against the walls in a search for something to hold onto.

It was pitch black, all the lights off, but he found his way to the kitchen purely by memory, found himself in front of the fridge once more. His hands clutched the door, wrenching it open.

The cold hit his skin, only creating more pain, but he reached inside, hands grabbing for comfort, for the very thing his entire being craved.

The blood bag was half frozen, but he didn't want to even bother heating it up, he just needed _relief_ from the pain, satisfaction for the gnawing hunger inside of him. His entire body was shaking, he was captive to its desire.

So close, he was so close to that relief. It was mere seconds now, before the liquid poured down his throat, the sweet taste of it nearly on the tip of his tongue. His body was alight with excitement, heart beating so fast, mouth salivating, he was _so close_ -

And then he froze. Slowly, he turned to look behind him.

Changbin stood in the doorway, arms crossed against his chest.

"We need to talk."

Jisung's heart pounded as he heard those words, and he swallowed, his throat dry. This wasn't a good situation to be caught in. Even if it was dark, Changbin would have seen, he would had figured it out. Jisung had been a vampire not even for a week and he'd blown his fucking cover.

"Wh-What about?" He said dumbly, letting the blood bag fall out of his hands and onto the floor. Maybe he could cover it up if he just-

"You know what about. We don't keep damn secrets in this house, okay? So I'm sorry for picking up the fucking clues you left scattered behind and piecing them together, but I didn't have a choice. I'm sorry for walking in on a situation you didn't want me to see, but I'm not gonna sit and pretend I don't know what's going on."

"Hyung-"

"No, will you _fucking_ listen? Two of our members are missing, and you withheld information that could help us to find them. Yes, I overheard your conversations before they even disappeared, and I _waited_ , hoping the three of you would trust me enough to tell me. But now they're _gone_ , and you haven't said a thing. I don't know what screwed up reason you did it for - did you think I'd think less of you if I found out? Regardless, I don't care _why_. I care that every secret not told is more time wasted in which we haven't found them."

"I'm sorry." Jisung mumbled. "But how could I expect you to even believe me?"

"You could have at least _tried_. Someone was going to find out eventually, through the trail of breadcrumbs you left. I get that you're new to this whole gig, but keeping it secret wasn't going to help you, and it wasn't going to help Chan and Hyunjin either."

"I just- I thought that-"

"That I'd hate you? Cause I don't. You know that this doesn't change the way I think of you, right? Whatever voice in your head is telling you that, don't listen to it. You're still my stupid brother, okay?"

Jisung bit his lip, trembling, and did not protest when arms encircled him in an embrace. Changbin hardly ever hugged him, he only did it at important moments when Jisung clearly needed it- had he? Needed this? Just a wordless form of reassurance that maybe, maybe everything would be okay. That he wasn't alone.

He accepted the touch, he leaned into it, fighting away the tears of relief pooling at the edge of his eyes. He wasn't alone, he didn't have to hide away from the people he trusted with more than his life. He didn't have to keep a self-destructive secret, he could confide in his brother who hugged him as if he was only inches from falling apart, and that touch was all that kept him together.

It did keep him together. It was a painkiller to everything he'd been going through.

"You're not even shocked?" Jisung asked as he pulled away. He remembered his own reaction; he had been on the verge of hysteria.

"Of course I was. At first, I mean. I spent a good half an hour locked in a soundproof practice room just to yell about how crazy it is. But I'm past that now."

Jisung felt a smile tugging at his lips. "Only half an hour?"

"You flatter me. But anyway, how does this all work? Tell me everything you know."

"Well, I don't know much more than you do, but okay..."

Jisung covered the basic details of what had happened, and what Chan and Hyunjin had told him. Changbin listened silently, taking it all in. He seemed to share Jisung's suspicions that the reason their members were missing was to do with the fact that they were vampires.

"So this whole time since they've been gone you haven't eaten?" Changbin gestured to the blood bag that lay previously forgotten on the floor, condensation running off its surface.

Jisung's senses seemed to spark up again once he recalled that it was there, he became aware of the churning hunger inside his stomach. His heightened emotions seemed to have pushed it away, but it returned now, as painful as ever.

"I..." His mouth was dry. "Yeah."

Clearly Changbin was about to scold him about not eating or whatever, but Jisung's mind was suddenly elsewhere. Agony, agony, _agony_ \- He wanted blood, he smelled blood, in this very room.

"You said Hyunjin ate every few days..." Changbin murmured. "It's been longer than that."

Jisung's body began trembling again, full of pain that was very close to spilling over. His vampire-brain helpfully told him that Changbin was a living human full of blood, who smelled really good and didn't he just want to bite-

"You need to... You need to back away from me right now." He stammered.

"Jisung?" Changbin looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"I said back away!" Jisung yelled, and when he felt the ache in his gums as fangs started to come through, he staggered backwards, fighting against his instinct with all of his might.

"Okay, okay, I'm backing away." Changbin's voice was calm, but his eyes said otherwise. He stepped back slowly, hands raised up in a confused surrender.

Jisung tried to breathe, tried to calm down, but the pain was _still there_ , why hadn't it gone away, why were his insides still on fire? Why could he sense every living person in this house, hear their steady heartbeats? Why did his mind still focus on the crescendo of the one in front of him, despite the distance now between them?

"Jisung, you need to eat. You can't fucking do this to yourself." Changbin's eyes swam with worry, and it hit Jisung's heart like a knife.

"Okay," He choked back a sob rising in his throat, "Okay, I will, I just... can you leave whilst I do?"

"If I leave, I'm trusting you to actually eat and not lie to me about it."

"I will. I promise."

Jisung meant his promise, despite his self-loathing about all of this still. Changbin left, and he tentatively picked up the blood bag with shaking hands.

Next thing he knew, it was empty, most of it now on his hands and around his mouth, and the pain had dulled. His body still shook for a few more seconds, as it registered that he'd eaten. It wasn't as blissful as the first time, it was more of a 'I guess I'm still alive then' feeling.

That was all he could really ask for right now.

-

"Aren't you eating breakfast?" Seungmin asked Jisung, who had been trying to slip under the radar that following morning.

"I already ate." He quickly said.

"You just got up."

"He was up in the middle of the night, I'm surprised you didn't hear him." Changbin said, and Jisung silently thanked him with his eyes.

"It's not healthy to eat at night." Seungmin seemed determined to persist.

"Literally all of us do it." Jisung replied, sitting on the counter and swinging his legs back and forth.

"Yeah, well you haven't been eating much recently, so I'm just a bit concerned-"

"Just drop it, Seungmin." Jisung said, getting frustrated.

"But-"

"Both of you have valid points so shut up." Minho was the one to interrupt this time, looking tired. "Is that how Chan does the conflict-resolving thing?"

The atmosphere changed visibly, everything becoming much more silent.

"Not quite." Jisung murmured.

"Big shoes to fill..." Minho said, looking at his plate as he spoke. Had he been worrying about responsibility as the eldest all this time? "I dunno how he does it. He probably would've called a family meeting to talk about our feelings by now." He looked up. "Wait, _should_ we do a family meeting?"

"I reckon that's a solid no from everyone." Changbin said after a slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Okay, well I think we need to do _something_. Together. Since we don't have work."

"How about a movie night? Wait, a movie _day_?" Jeongin asked.

The tension in the room eased at that suggestion, something so simple yet effective to take their minds off everything.

"You, young man, are a genius." Jisung proclaimed.

"Sounds good." Felix hummed.

"We're all agreed, then?" Minho said. "Movie day?"

"Dibs on the first pick." Seungmin said.

"Hey, no fair!"

-

Unfortunately, the world couldn't seem to spare them that small happiness for long. The movie day was interrupted by the stupidly sympathetic police officer that had been assigned to the case. He was accompanied by their manager, who looked slightly worried.

"Officer Choi has found some evidence. He thinks you all may be able to shed some light on it." Their manager said, clearly avoiding mentioning what the evidence was.

"What is it?" Minho asked.

"We have uncovered security footage of the night of the disappearance." Officer Sympathy said, "One of the cameras filming the staircase leading up to your dorm; it cuts off halfway through, but I expect you'd all like to see it."

Jisung leaned in as the police officer opened and turned a laptop towards them. Grainy footage of the empty stairwell, and then-

Chan. Even with the bad quality, it was clearly him. He walked up slowly, glancing behind himself every so often. He looked on edge.

Jisung felt tears prick at his eyes as he watched. Just this was enough to remind him that his members weren't here, a painful slap back into reality.

Something changed. Chan jumped as if he'd heard something. He then looked directly at the security camera and held up a fist. Then three fingers, then two-

And the footage cut off.

There was silence as the members all stared at the blank screen, equally disturbed and shaken by what they'd just seen. Chan hadn't even made it through the door that night.

The last time Jisung saw him, Chan had been avoiding him because of his stupid fucking questions. The last interaction they had was Chan telling him to stop. He hadn't even had the chance to apologise for it, and now Chan was gone.

And Hyunjin. He'd sat and patiently answered Jisung's questions, he'd reassured him that he wasn't alone. He'd been there to fight Jisung's doubts, but he wasn't there anymore.

It was almost too much in that moment, as he sat, numb on the outside, the other members beside him not uttering a word.

Officer Sympathy cleared his throat. "We believe he was trying to communicate something. One conclusion would be a sequence of numbers: '032'. Do these numbers mean anything to any of you?"

032...

"If you add a five on the end..." Felix mumbled. "That's our debut date."

Jisung breathed out. Of course. It was so simple but clear to him.

"And do you have any idea why he may have communicated this?"

There was silence, and the shaking of some heads. Jisung firmly remained with his mouth shut, holding back a hypothesis that was clawing away at his throat. He didn't trust this police officer, and there was a reason that Chan had only communicated those numbers.

"Thank you. You've all been most informative. I will return as soon as possible with any updates on the case."

"Thank you, officer." Minho murmured, inclining his head despite looking more angry than grateful, and the officer walked out with their manager, leaving them in solemn silence that was somehow deafening at the same time.

Jisung counted to ten after the door closed, before tugging on Changbin's sleeve.

"What?" Changbin asked as Jisung all but dragged him away from the living room to somewhere they couldn't be overheard. The realisation in his mind was begging to be let out, part of him wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

"His laptop." Jisung breathed, his mind racing at a million miles an hour. "Our debut date. That's gotta be the password, there'll be something on there-"

"But his laptop's in police custody as evidence."

Jisung swore. "Okay. Fucking okay. Let's steal it."

"Let's _what_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changbin and jisung doing god’s work
> 
> feedback is always appreciated through comments and kudos! i’m surprised that i actually got comments last time when it was only first chapter, so thank you guys :)
> 
> you can reach me on:  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/midnightmxnwalk)  
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/midnightmxnwalk)


	3. echoes and answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i procrastinated updating cause it’s a Wild one so hold on tight

"Steal it." Jisung smirked. "Fuck it, why not? I have _super-speed_ , or some kind of upgraded athleticism, it'll be a piece of cake!"

"It's in police custody! It will _not_ be a piece of cake."

"Okay, then we'll _make_ it a piece of cake. Maybe we should get a map of the police station? We can make a plan from there, in true criminal fashion."

Changbin's face seemed to go through several emotions within the span of a second. Shock, disappointment, a tad of frustration, a strange mix of proudness and mischievousness. He then seemed to settle for the 'god help me' expression of resignation.

"Alright. Can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but it's not as if I can stop you."

"I mean, personally, I think breaking the law under these circumstances is reasonable." Jisung continued, if only to get more of those expressions. "There are _aspects_ of the situation the police don't know about, and god knows what conclusions they'd draw if they saw the deep web vampire shit. They'd probably think Chan got dragged into a cult. Which actually is still an alarming thing, but-"

"You don't need to explain yourself." Changbin sighed. "I'm with you."

"Deep web vampire shit?" Minho stood in the doorway, feigning disinterest as he picked at his nails. "Is that why there's been bags of blood in our fridge for three years?"

"God fucking damnit." Jisung wanted to bang his head against the wall. He'd seen them? And _never_ questioned it until now?

"I mean, I don't want to jump to conclusions here." Minho smiled sweetly. Okay, clearly until now he'd thought there was weird cult shit going on, jesus _christ_.

"Has anyone else been eavesdropping on our conversation?" Jisung said through gritted teeth, teetering on the edge of losing it for the millionth time this week.

"Oh, they're all trying to listen through the wall but I've long since given up on that. It's too muffled, and you didn't notice me until I literally was in the room."

"Yeah, sorry, I was a bit caught up about Jisung wanting to break the law." Changbin replied, looking unsurprised but disappointed. He'd been acting a bit more like a Responsible Adult since Chan had been gone, probably since Minho _didn't_ despite being older.

"Okay, well answer me this: what in the bloody hell is going on?"

"An apt description." Jisung muttered, unable to hold himself back.

"He's a vampire." Changbin said matter of factly. "So are Hyunjin and Chan. We think that's why they went missing, and that Chan was trying to tell us his laptop password in that security footage, because there might be evidence on there as to where he is right now. It's in police custody, so Jisung proposed we steal it. That pretty much covers everything."

Minho stood still for a moment, expressionless. Then his eyebrows furrowed, as if he was thinking really hard. He walked over to the fridge, opened it, and took out a blood bag, looking at it scrutinisingly.

"Could you maybe put that away?" Jisung winced. "I'm running low on those things as it is."

That was a lie. He was avoiding them like a plague. But there was a danger of them eventually running out, so it seemed better to save them and ignore the aching hunger within his body.

Minho put the blood bag away, and turned to face the two of them. "Okay. Seems legit." He nodded. "What's the game plan?"

"Just like that?" Jisung questioned, feeling just as confused as he had when Changbin had confronted him. "You believe us?"

"I mean, why else would there be blood bags in the fridge?" Minho gestured around sarcastically, his eyebrows raised in amusement. "It's not as if we've got anything else to go on to find our members, so fuck yeah, may as well steal Chan's laptop and look at this 'deep web vampire shit'. Maybe it'll give us some fucking answers."

"Okay. You make a good point." Jisung took a deep breath. "So, the _plan_ is exactly what we need to figure out right now. Any chance we could convince Officer Sympathy to give us a map of the police station without it looking _really_ suspicious?"

Changbin rolled his eyes. "No. But maybe if we found an excuse to be in there..."

"What, like making up shit and pretending it's evidence?" Minho suggested.

"That could work, but if we do that it'll fuck up the police's investigation. The responsibility of finding them would fall solely on our shoulders, and might I remind you none of us are trained detectives?"

"Well I think we're doing pretty well so far." Jisung said. "Or rather, _I_ am, since I figured it out."

"Or it's not even his password and we went on a wild goose chase."

"Shut up, you."

"A wild goose chase is better than doing nothing." Minho said. "Either way, we're still gonna do it. So who volunteers as the thief?"

Jisung groaned. "Why are you looking at me?"

The next day, he found himself lingering in the police station whilst Changbin and Minho went to 'look at the security footage again'. Somehow the excuse was bought, but the bigger issue was how Jisung would sneak into the evidence room undetected by literal detectives. It was their _job_ to detect.

There was the whole super-speed thing. That's what he'd said he'd do anyway, whilst they'd planned this. But he also needed an alibi. Especially since there were security cameras all over the building.

He held an empty laptop bag with him, so no one would question him leaving with something he hadn't had when he walked inside. All he needed to do now was...

Spotting a young, unintelligent looking officer, he went and approached, asking where the bathroom was. The officer kindly pointed him in the right direction, saying "it's just past the evidence room".

Well at least that part was made easy now.

Jisung slowly walked down as he assessed the walls for cameras. There was one facing the door of the evidence room. He manoeuvred himself to be in what he hoped was its blind spot.

Standing on the tips of his toes and reaching up, he tilted the camera away. There. That wasn't so hard. One down.

He walked(super-speedily) over to the door of the evidence room, opened it, and slipped inside.

Looking around inside, there didn't seem to be any security cameras, unless... Yes, above the door. He reached and tilted it upwards, hoping it hadn't caught him walking in.

As he glanced around, he saw there were shelves and shelves full of boxes, and if he went through them individually it would take a millennia. There had to be some sort of filing system, with labels.

Eventually he found the 'Missing Persons' section, and found a box labelled with his members names. Sure enough, inside of it lay Chan's laptop. Carefully, Jisung lifted it out and put it in his bag.

Okay. That was done. Now all he had to do was get out undetected.

He slipped out the door, and began walking back, completely pretending that he had just gone to the bathroom.

"Ah, there he is!" Minho said, standing in the lobby with Changbin and Jisung's least favourite person. Why were they out early?

"Why did you take so long in the bathroom?" Officer Sympathy asked, seemingly pleasant, but with suspicion in his eyes.

"Oh, um, that's..." Jisung felt his face grow hot. Shit. He was gonna be caught, wasn't he?

"He was crying, Officer." Changbin said, looking at Jisung as if to say _play along_. "He does that a lot now. He's very upset, you know, about our members missing, but he doesn't like talking about it."

Jisung's face grew hotter out of frustration. "Can we go now?" He said quietly.

"That's perfectly understandable. Know that there are plenty of people to contact who can help you if you need." Jisung didn't meet his gaze, but he could tell Officer Dipshit(a more suitable name, he'd decided) was looking at him with that condescending look again. "I'll update you all when there's more progress on the case."

Huh. And then he walked away. They'd actually succeeded? He'd bought the bullshit?

"I hate you." Jisung hissed at Changbin as they left.

"Shut up, I just saved your ass."

"Yeah, and now he'll be looking at me with those _pity eyes_ even more. As if any of us wanted his damn sympathy."

"Did you get it?" Minho intervened.

"Yeah." Jisung breathed. "Let's get home, and maybe we'll get some answers."

Back at the dorm, the only room with a lock on the door was the bathroom, so... well if it looked odd, none of the other members had said anything. The three of them sat on the floor, laptop in front of them.

Jisung reached for the keyboard, and typed in the password. A loading icon appeared above it.

He held his breath as the laptop opened, luckily still with everything still open. The first thing was a page that looked like some sort of deep web reddit.

"Motherfucker..." Minho muttered as they all read the title. "I am going to _kill_ Chan when we find him."

-

Chan wondered if he was dead.

This was because there was a body in front of him. It was his body. It looked pale - more so than usual. It looked dead.

He held up his hands and looked at them. They were flickering and translucent, as if only on the cusp of being corporeal. He reached out to touch the body, but his hands passed through it.

He'd had to bend down to reach, and upon drawing closer, he heard the faint thrumming of a heartbeat.

He was alive, then. He just wasn't... there.

It was as if the last puzzle piece of a mystery haunting him for weeks had fallen clumsily into place. He didn't fully understand, but he was getting the big picture.

Vampires had been disappearing over the past few weeks. The online forums were buzzing with questions of why or how, and fear of being the next victim.

All anyone knew was that someone was kidnapping vampires with no explanation. The implications of this were far worse than the usual targeted killing of vampire hunters. Because every single one of the victims had been taken alive.

Chan had seen the rumours, read through witness accounts of kidnapping. He couldn't hide his own fear, and the overwhelming stress that settled over him like a looming shadow.

He hadn't really been in his right mind. He'd seen what had been happening to Jisung, but hadn't acted on it. He made excuses when Hyunjin confronted him about it. And worst of all, he pushed Jisung away and avoided him, even though he must've been scared out of his mind and desperate for answers about everything.

Chan hadn't known he was going to be taken (if he had, he would've helped Jisung more). He'd had the fear about it, and that fear had skyrocketed when he'd heard footsteps behind him on his way back to the dorms. Panic set in, and his immediate worry was about the blood orders for the others. He'd faced the security camera in the stairwell and used his fingers to indicate his laptop password, in the hopes that Hyunjin would be able to continue ordering.

But perhaps he shouldn't have bothered, he thought as he took in his surroundings finally. He was in a large warehouse, scattered with bodies and identical ghost-like spirits hovering over them, just like he was.

Next to his own body lay Hyunjin's. But there was no spirit hovering over it.

"Hyunjin..." Chan mumbled. "Hyunjin, where are you?" He called out, his voice echoing through the warehouse.

There was no response.

"Hyunjin!" He yelled, feeling himself begin to fall into panic. He had to be here somewhere, right? Chan would find him, it would be okay, as long as they were together.

"You looking for the guy who was next to you?" One of the other spirits asked.

"Yeah," Chan said, "Yeah, he's my friend," his _brother_ , "Have you seen him?"

"The guy was barely here for a second before he took off. Must've been panicking a lot. I suppose he thought he was dead, and that's why he was so afraid."

"That's the conclusion I made at first as well." Chan murmured. "Do you know what direction he went in?"

"Sorry, he was really fast, it was like a blur of motion, I couldn't see the direction."

"That's fine. Thank you. Maybe he'll come back..." Chan wanted to search for Hyunjin, but he also didn't want to leave their bodies behind, for fear of not being able to find them again.

He didn't really know how any of this worked. Was his spirit attached to his body in some way, or could he move as he liked? If there was only so far to go without hitting a boundary, then Hyunjin couldn't have gone far. But whilst Chan felt _something_ tugging at him to stay where he was, it wasn't stopping him from leaving.

So thinking of it from that point of view, Hyunjin could literally be anywhere. Chan didn't even know where to begin with searching for him.

Another thought struck him, as his wits only now seemed to be catching up to him. If Chan and Hyunjin had both been taken here, who was to say Jisung hadn't been as well?

Chan began floating - yes, _floating_ \- around the warehouse, looking at the bodies and their identical spirits, searching for that familiar face. He went round twice and didn't see it.

That meant Jisung was safe. Hopefully. But fuck, he was all alone now, he didn't know about the danger he was in, he didn't know a _single thing_ because Chan had been an asshole and hadn't told him. There was no point making excuses now, the damage was done.

He returned to his own body, and it was still jarring seeing himself from a third person perspective. He didn't know what had been done to everyone in here, nor what was going to happen next. But even without Hyunjin, he wasn't alone.

He was surrounded by people just as confused and scared as he was, so it wouldn't hurt to ask around and try to piece together some answers.

-

Jeongin hadn't expected to go crazy this early on. He'd been clinging onto his sanity with such desperation, that he was surprised it slipped away from him.

Changbin, Minho, and Jisung were in the bathroom with the door locked - definitely up to something suspicious. Jeongin didn't know what it was, but he would find out eventually, considering the short lifespan of secrets within the group.

Felix and Seungmin had invited him to play games with them in the living room, but he'd declined, wanting some time to himself. When your thoughts are running at a million miles an hour, sometimes you need time to stop and breathe.

He entered his room, saw Hyunjin standing inside, and promptly screamed.

"Hyunjin?" He yelled.

"Holy fuck, you can see me?" Hyunjin yelled back.

"Oh my god, I missed you so much, Hyunjin-" Jeongin reached out to hug him, but his arms met air. "What?" He said, turning around to see Hyunjin behind him. "The hell?"

Hyunjin smiled, not happily, but with a strong bitterness. "I'm sorry. I... I'm not _really_ here. Not properly."

"What do you mean?" Jeongin breathed.

"I..." Hyunjin's eyes shimmered with tears. "I think I'm dead."

"So what, you're a fucking ghost?" Jeongin spat. "Ghosts aren't real."

The bitter smile remained. Jeongin reached out to touch Hyunjin, but again, his hand fell through. What in the fucking shit-

"Ah..." He whispered to himself. "I see what's happening. I've gone insane and I'm hallucinating."

This wasn't good. People didn't hallucinate for no reason, usually there was something _very wrong_. Jeongin wondered what had fucked up his brain that badly. Maybe he'd accidentally inhaled the smoke-that-definitely-wasn't-cigarettes from their neighbours below.

"No, you're not hallucinating." Hallucination-Hyunjin said. "Jeongin, please listen to me-"

"No. You're not real." Jeongin muttered. Had he hit his head somewhere?

"I _am_ , I'm here, _please Jeongin_ -"

"Leave me alone!" Jeongin cried. "This is some fucked up way to cope with this, it's so fucking wrong. I don't know what the hell my brain is doing, but you are _not here_. You are _out there_ , and _we are going to find you_. Both of my friends are alive, and they are going to come home. So _leave me alone_."

Hallucination-Hyunjin was silent. Maybe if Jeongin shut his eyes he'd go away. Maybe he needed to see a therapist. Maybe he needed to just whack his head really hard.

Inching his eyes open, he saw Hallucination-Hyunjin was still there, watching him. He closed them again, muttering to himself that it _wasn't_ real.

-

Hyunjin had taken one look at his own dead body and bolted. Everything came crashing down upon him, it felt like he couldn't breathe - of course he couldn't because he was dead. Emotions remained lingering like vultures and all he could do was run and try to escape from them.

Naturally, his feet led him back home.

In the dorm, he saw his members. They didn't know he was dead. They looked sad, but not as sad as they'd look if they knew. He stood in front of them but no one saw him. Whatever he was, a ghost or something, they couldn't see him.

Except Jeongin. And fuck, maybe Hyunjin should've explained before he tried to hug him. He too, had craved that touch, and for a moment had believed it was possible until he passed through.

"You're not real." Jeongin kept repeating like a mantra with his eyes squeezed shut.

"Where's Chan?" Hyunjin asked, knowing it had been too long their leader hadn't been in the dorm.

"He's missing too- No, I'm not even answering you, cause you're not real."

"Missing?" Hyunjin echoed. No, no, no. If Chan was gone then he might be dead too, _no_ , no, this was _bad_. Chan couldn't be dead, it wasn't fair for Chan to be dead, the members _needed him_.

Had he been in the same place Hyunjin woke up in? Had Hyunjin abandoned him just because he was a stupid coward? He was so afraid of death, and now that he was dead he was afraid of _himself_. So fucking afraid.

He prayed to every single god or whatever being ruled the universe that Chan was alive. He prayed that he hadn't abandoned him in that horrible place.

"I need to find him." Hyunjin mumbled. "Jeongin, I don't want to leave you-"

"Please do. Please go away."

Hyunjin sighed. "Okay. I'll come back."

"No, you won't!" Jeongin replied as Hyunjin floated out of the room, absentmindedly going through the wall. Cause that was a thing now.

Unfortunately, he had no memory of how to get back to that place. He'd been running with his eyes half closed, not paying attention at all.

But well, if he'd gotten to the dorm without even thinking, then maybe it worked in reverse. Maybe if he just ran, he would end up back there.

It was worth a shot, so he began sprinting down the streets. At first he darted around people but then remembered that he could pass through them. So he fully shut his eyes and relied on instinct to guide him.

When he opened them, he was approaching a creepy looking warehouse. A strangely appropriate place for a dead body, so he decided to look inside.

He nearly screamed when he saw the rows and rows of more bodies. More people, who were dead and had ghosts hovering above them.

His eyes scanned the crowd, and landed upon a familiar face.

"Chan!" He yelled, running to hug him.

"Oh my god, Hyunjin, I thought you wouldn't come back." Chan cried, wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm sorry," Hyunjin sniffled, "I was just really scared and I didn't know what to do. I... I don't want to be dead."

"Hyunjin..."

"And it's not fair that you're dead too, either, I don't want you to be dead!"

"Hyunjin, we're not dead."

"What?" Hyunjin gaped.

"We're alive. Listen to your body, there's breathing and a heartbeat."

Hyunjin swallowed back nausea as he bent down, and sure enough, he heard the _thud thud_ of his heart and the faint breaths escaping his lips.

"Oh." He said dumbly.

"I've been talking to the other people here, and I think our souls have been detached from our bodies."

" _Oh_. That's not good, is it?"

"No. I'm not sure why, but the guy who took us - everyone here is calling him 'The Stealer'. He's specifically targeting vampires, and I don't think he has good intentions."

"I should probably tell Jeongin I'm alive." Hyunjin shivered. Somehow this seemed worse than being dead. It was a weird limbo between life and death, and right now they both seemed inescapably stuck within it.

-

"I'm back!" Hyunjin reappeared.

"No. Go away." Jeongin replied.

"Okay, so I've got good news and bad news. The good news is I found Chan," Their leader's head poked through the wall, and he gave a wave, "And turns out neither of us are dead. The bad news is our souls have been detached from our bodies for god knows what reason, and it probably isn't a good one."

Jeongin took a deep breath. "Right. Okay. What the fuck was the counsellor's phone number again."

"Jeonginnie," Chan began, and goddamnit Jeongin missed his voice, "I know you're probably really scared and confused right now. It's probably more confusing that you're the only one who can see us. I don't know why that is, but we need to make use of it. You could help the police actually find us, we can give you directions to the place our bodies are-"

"How would I even explain how I knew?"

"An actual response. That's progress." Hyunjin hummed.

"Doesn't mean I think you're real." Jeongin huffed. "Even if you were real and telling the truth, how the fuck would I be able to help without looking like a madman? I can't. No one would believe me. You know why? Because you _aren't real_."

"How can we prove that we are?" Hyunjin asked.

Jeongin hummed. "Get someone else to see you." That was impossible, and it gave him satisfaction to say it. No one else could see the figments of his own mind.

"Okay. Fine. We will." Hyunjin looked determined.

"You won't." Jeongin muttered under his breath. He hated the part of himself that wanted this to be real, that missed his members so much that he'd even accept hallucinations, anything just to see them.

The logical side of his brain was stronger than that, though. He knew it wasn't real, it was too cruel to be real. Floating souls was just not within the realms of possibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> none of anything makes sense right now, but don’t worry, it will at least half make sense eventually. i’d love to hear any theories in the meantime, though!
> 
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/midnightmxnwalk)   
>  [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/midnightmxnwalk)

**Author's Note:**

> this isn’t gonna be your typical vampire fic :) aka me trying to find plot other than angst
> 
> i got the idea about the blood bags from [hollowed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12818904/chapters/29265072) by renaitrev. it’s amazing and you should all check it out!
> 
> i love feedback, so feel free to comment, kudos, and bookmark!
> 
> also you can reach me on:  
> [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/midnightmxnwalk)
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/midnightmxnwalk)


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